Jay Sheen

If you can have fun even in defeat (and this isn't the first time for me), it makes me think that when people say a game is unfair or broken, sometimes it's just because they don't fully understand what just happened (and, yes, sometimes this is the game's fault, on UI/UX).

I had a streak of four consecutive losses in Shadowverse this morning, and I was genuinely laughing at the most recent defeat.

My opponent made a winning move, I laughed, and canceled it -- and so he had a response on the next turn that I forgot to consider. It was fair, it was funny.

Sometimes I see people saying "nobody likes to lose", but in competitive games the issue isn't losing itself, but how it happens.

People dislike losses when "defeat comes suddenly", often due to lack of knowledge or an opponent having more resources.

If Saudi support helps with setups, that could grow the player base by creating more chances to practice and compete.

In the long term, this could result in new great players, people who wouldn't be able to engage with the game otherwise.

Overall, I'm fairly optimistic about the news.

Brazil has fewer and less-equipped locals than the US.

A single PS5 can cost nearly twice someone's monthly income.

Players may be able afford their own, but it's hard for scenes to have several of these available for weekly events.

It may seem unusual for Brazil to host its own EVO, but it’s one of the few countries outside the US–Japan axis to have its own Street Fighter Pro Tour. With EVO coming, a new Street Fighter League feels possible too.

I'm excited about the announcement of EVO Brazil (2027).

EVO Las Vegas may lose ~20 Brazilian travelers, but Brazil could add 1.000+ local players to the EVO circuit—a clear net win for EVO, with lurking legends and culturally defining moments.

Flesh & Blood also featured some artwork by Japanese artists, usually related to events in Japan, and overall I'm also satisfied with this choice.

Whenever possible/available, I like to get playmats featuring these artworks.

I've recently been drawn back to Magic the Gathering with the release of Lorwyn -- which reminds me of Magic from the time when I played it more actively (lore, art).

And then, I found these special artworks, and I wish the entire TCG had art in this style!

An update on this:

-> Season is over, now it's time to rest and test new things until Nationals, which should be around middle of the year;

-> I'd like to play Verdance, but she might LL before that;

-> I won't play Pro Quest since the focus is Silver Age, and I'm not interested in that format;

Also, this is a mistake I often see people making when using the hypergeometric calculator for Riftbound, setting the population size to 40 instead of 39.

But I'm going to stop geek out about cards and get ready for my mid-Saturday activities.

Riftbound has this Champion mechanic, where your Chosen Champion starts outside the deck. This makes the deck well-rounded and consistent, which I love.

I should mention that I love Wixoss for a similar reason. Deck size is 40 cards, number of copies allowed is 4, so 10 types of cards, consistency.

Now, Riftbound is an interesting case because it allows up to 3 copies of each card and the deck size is 40 cards.

So, 13 different of cards, we reach 39, which would leave a single isolated card that would rarely be seen in matches.

Not good. I certainly dislike this scenario.

HOWEVER

So, Flesh & Blood, 3 copies of each card, minimum deck size is 60 cards, I can have 20 different cards (20 x 3 = 60).

Since in Flesh & Blood we have 4 cards per turn, another number I like is 72 (if we're talking about fatigue). That's 18 hands, 24 types of cards.

I try to have as many copies as possible of all the cards in my decks. If the rules allow up to three copies, I try to have three copies of all cards.

I like consistency, and it also helps with the math in the middle of the game to calculate the chances of drawing the cards I need.

Sim, a paixão de muitos por esse anime, Boku no Hero, Black Clover, é justamente por estar sendo uma das primeiras experiências deles com esse tipo de série.

O anime não é ruim, mas não tem o mesmo impacto em nós por termos tido experiências similares mais vezes no passado.

This weekend I played my Dash I/O. I chose her since I'm familiar with her from my sweet Blitz days.

She's well positioned in the current meta and is therefore one of the most popular heroes at the moment, but I believe she's a good choice for me among the decks I have and the state of the meta.

Road to Nationals season has begun, and that will be my focus for the rest of this month.

In addition to armories, I plan to participate in all the RtN events available in my city, and neighboring cities, for the rest of the month.

It's tiring, but also fun. A great way to start the year.

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone enjoyed the festivities and that your goals and wishes for this year come true.

December was a good month to rest, but now, in January, the action starts again. Let's give it our best! 🥂

On February 13, Riftbound will release its second set, Spirit Forged.

And Digimon will release EX11, Dawn of Liberator.

Oh, and Flesh & Blood will release Compendium of Rathe.

These companies are aggressively targeting February 14th, huh.

The audience playing these games was at the age of having children, so the industry appealed to that warm feeling of parenthood.

However, many are reaching their 40s or 50s still single these days, so it seems that the entertainment industry is shifting its focus towards the "cool uncle" now.

Apparently, gaming is abandoning the saturated trend of "emotionally broken old man protecting pure kid in hostile world" (The Last of Us, God of War, Telltale's The Walking Dead, etc) now in favor of "cool single uncle" (Ryu ga Gotoku, Biohazard, etc).

I'd like Nintendo to release a controller for Switch 2 that allows for a screen on the controller.

That way, it'd be more viable to port some games from DS, 3DS, Wii U, and mobile (and maybe a built-in microphone, 'cause of Phantom Hourglass / Spirit Tracks).

I saw some on Etsy! It's very useful, especially in TCGs where there is no limit to the number of cards you can hold in your hand.

An update on this:

-> I played in this tournament last week and got 2nd place (8 players). This week again and came in 1-3 (16 players).

-> I completed my Control Bishop deck. I also built a Spellboost Witch and an Aggro Royal.

-> These interactions with WB rekindled my enthusiasm for Evolve!

An update on this:

-> In the end, I decided to go with Teemo, Ahri, and Annie! I've been considering to build Jinx and Viktor later;

-> Next competition will be "Road to Nationals" (Flesh & Blood) in January, and after some thought I've already put together the deck I'll be using;

BSky's big draw is to be the "anti-Trump, anti-Musk, anti-Twitter" platform. As a result, a large part of the audience here are people interested in fighting, drama, and discussions on these topics, so entertainment doesn't get as much attention.

That's the impression I get, it's not your fault.

At the same time, maybe that would be asking too much of someone who has only been playing for a week.

I heard they're having a Lobby Tournament this weekend. From what I understand, it's similar to the weekly tournaments for physical TCGs. I'm going to give that a fair shot too!

I've been playing "Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond" a lot this past week (about 100 hours).

I'm only one card missing to finish my first ideal deck, and still I managed to qualify for Stage 2 of the Unite & Fight Cup. 🎉

Unfortunately, I didn't perform well enough to qualify for the Final Stage.

Some time ago, when asked about Xenoblade Chronicles X on Switch, Monolith Software said it wouldn't be feasible/possible.

Today, not only is the game available on Switch (and has sold well), but it's also compatible with Switch 2.

One of the most beautiful games on Wii U is now on Switch 2!